School Maid             by: Anne O’Nonymous

 

Part Six--I Got These Sharp Pains, Doc!

Ms. Alicia Thorncroft smiled at Michelle as she extended her hand. The handshake was firm, but friendly -- no jostling to get the "upper hand." "Can we go somewhere private?" she asked.

"There’s a couch in the day room, we can talk there," Michelle replied.

In a few minutes, they were seated. "I’m going to ask you to attend the rally tonight. My reason is this: there has been a series of abusive attacks aimed at women on and off campus, and I believe you are here to be a decoy. Before you ask, yes it was Ms. Murphy’s idea. She’s the one who got me started in politics."

"Emm, I don’t know if I should. I mean, the other hits were outside. This guy might not show up, and it could be a waste of time," Michelle answered.

"True, dear girl. At least you might find what I say interesting. I know most of the males in this area call me a witch, so why not come and see for yourself!"

"Can I get a front row seat?"

"Front row -- center, how’s that," replied a grinning Ms. Thorncroft.

"I’ll be there with bells on!"

"Sweetie, leave the bells at home. Just a casual dress will do."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To attend the event, there was a group conference on what Michelle could wear that was considered unplanned, and yet sexy enough to entice a maniac. There was a crimson bra-and-panty set ("God, I hope he doesn’t see these, I’ll never be able to fight him off," was her first thought), a lacy cami, a silky pale blue blouse and jeans. Knee-hi socks and loafers, man’s incidentally, and a bomber jacket completed this "casual" outfit.

On stage at the rally, there were seats for several speakers. One was the Dean of Female Students; another, a local businesswoman. However, the main speaker was Ms. Alicia Thorncroft. She wore a powder blue pants-suit, with a matching jacket, and her hair done up in a French twist. It was odd, but standing on that stage, she seemed to radiate some kind of powerful energy, commanding people to do as she wants.

For a small school, this rally was as big as they get! Michelle had a front row seat reserved for her, and she felt lucky to get it. Oh, there were about a dozen males present heckling Ms. Thorncroft, but she just ignored them. The more she ignored, the louder they got until they were not-too-politely escorted from the building.

Michelle could not understand what all the commotion concerning Alicia Thorncroft could have been about. Her ideas made sense: affordable, supervised daycare for working mothers; maternity leave for mothers and fathers; equal pay for equal work; increased campus security patrols, and sex education starting in the grade schools. Her strongest assault was on the campus attacker, calling him a degenerate coward, a psychopath, and menace to society in general. Her use of words was brilliant, liking the perp to a stalking animal seeking out the weakest of the herd -- one that would be unlikely to fight back -- and when there was any resistance, he would turn and run, with his tail tucked between his legs, back to mama!

This wasn’t like any football rally ‘Mike’ attended in the past! Even with all the rah-rah-rah, if the team wasn’t that good, there was little a pep rally could do! This one was intended to get results -- make the perp’s blood boil. If anything could incite our man(?), this would do it.

"This degenerate has got to be caught before he hurts more innocents with his vicious, animal-like attacks -- no, I take that back, he is even an insult to the animals . . . Now I’ve heard talk on campus that if this man is caught by certain students, they are willing and able to remove parts of his anatomy. I must state for the record that I’m against this, as I believe they are already non-existent . . . as I understand it, this cowardly, immoral being is entitled to a trial, well, I agree to that, but we, too, will have our say, and I say we put him away for a good long time! We can even send him gifts (at that, there was a collective gasp from the audience) -- I’m sure he will love getting pink, very lacey panties in jail!" were just a few of the remarks made by Ms. Thorncroft.

Michelle rose and clapped along with the rest of the ladies there, cheered remarks, and generally forgot who and what she was. It was, actually, a wonderful time, but slowly the rally wound down to its conclusion, and with it, the walk back to the house. A long, lonely, dangerous walk with trouble that could come at any time and from anywhere.

On stage, there were the closing remarks, the "Thanks for coming and watch yourselves on the way home," then a final round of applause as the audience slowly filed out. All of the doors were opened to allow for quick egress. Soon there were only a few people, donning coats, left in the large hall. Some men came out to sweep up and clear the stage of the podium, tables and chairs. Michelle spent the time watching them, and waiting for the place to empty -- she had to be a lone target, whether here in this hall or on the streets outside.

Ms. Thorncroft motioned her to the stage, and when she was a few feet away, asked, "Well, what do you think? Will that draw him out?"

"I think you hit him in his most vulnerable area: his ego!"

Alicia smilingly replied, "Yes, unfortunately males spend too much time trying to prove how masculine they are! We females go out and make ourselves feminine. They talk, we do, my dear. Would you like a cup of coffee? I know of a nice restaurant near here."

Michelle was about to answer in the affirmative when she saw the janitor, or stagehand, approaching. He was wearing coveralls, carrying a broom, but why did she notice him? Whether it was a sixth sense or not, there was something wrong -- terribly wrong! The man kept his head low, as he started pushing the broom in Ms. Thorncroft’s direction. She did not seem to notice the intruder, as she asked, "Dear, is something wrong?"

"Ah, no, at least I don’t think so!"

Alicia turned towards Michelle, ignoring the janitor, "Come, let’s get out of here so they can clean up!"

The assault came fast! Michelle caught only a glimpse of something metallic in the man’s hand as he dropped the broom and ran at Alicia, her back turned towards him.

"Look out!" Michelle managed to get out as she moved with a speed she never knew she possessed.

The man nearly reached his intended victim when he was sideswiped by a flying body. Now denied his target, he turned to vent his rage on this new object. A knife glinted in the remaining stage lighting, a hand descended once, then a second time and Michelle felt the sharp object plunge into her. It wasn’t a fatal blow, thanks to the breastform, but it was painful and bloody. "Oh my God! That’s a new blouse, you creep," were her only words.

With his only weapon now sticking in Michelle, the perpetrator tried to flee the scene. A hand grabbed him and turned him around. A fist flew through the air, landing on a shoulder. The attacker threw a punch of his own, and was surprised to see it blocked, and a blow to the stomach follow. He tried to make a run to get away, but was tackled by a very determined, and a very furious, woman. Her strength surprised him, as he thought all women were weak -- good only as playthings for males. Pushing her off, he tried again to escape this madwoman. Now she was in front of him, and he learned what pain is when she used her knee in a most sensitive place. As he doubled up from the pain, a second blow to the chin put him down. A body fell on him, raining blows to various parts of his anatomy, as he continued to struggle under the onslaught. He soon ceased to fight, the increasing pain was just getting to be too much.

Michelle tried to ignore the bloody blouse as she ran after the perp. She used a hand to reach out and grab him, pulling him around to face her. Her first blow was way off, as he retaliated. She was getting weaker from the stab wound. "If I can’t end this soon, this bastard will get away, and I will have let down a lot of people," she thought. As the attacker tried to escape, Michelle surprised herself by grabbing him around the ankles. NOW, she was MAD! This jerk had ruined a perfectly good blouse, camisole and bloodied a very pretty bra. Getting in front of the guy, she used a woman’s weapon -- a knee in the balls! Both fists were balled, ready for action. ‘Mike’ knew what he could do with them, and lashed out with a left to the jaw. More blows were necessary to subdue the attacker. She was ready to throw a right, but it wasn’t necessary -- the perp was down for the count, and so was a very weak Michelle. The loss of blood was too much, and she blacked out, right on top of the guy.

During the time of the fight, Ms. Thorncroft used a cell phone to alert police and obtain medical assistance for the pretty young lady that had saved her life. She vowed that there would be something done to remember her name.

The next hour was a flurry of activity as EMTs arrived and worked on Michelle, police rushed in and carted away the suspect in the attack, and the usual reporters, alerted by the police radio they constantly monitored, came on the scene with the usual thousand and one questions, and were surprised by the usual "We have no comment to make to the press at this time," from both the police spokesperson and Ms. Thorncroft, as she prepared to ride to the hospital with a badly bleeding Michelle.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maybe it was the antiseptic odor, or the white decor and then again, it could have been the woman in a nurse’s uniform that tipped it off! "Great! Now everybody will know what I am," lamented Michelle.

"Well, good morning there. How are we feeling today?" the nurse said, "My name is Angela Robbins, and I will be your day nurse."

"If you feel like I feel, you’d be home in bed," Michelle quipped, "Or better yet, a mortuary."

"Now why would you say that? You’re a hero!"

"I . . . I don’t . . . No, I know I’m no damn hero! I saw something about to happen and I did something -- that shouldn’t make me a hero."

Angela smiled at her patient, then simply stated, "You saved a woman’s life, caught a dangerous escaped convict, and you think that doesn’t make you a hero? Well, what does."

Michelle knew what she considered heros. "The poor mothers who raise their children properly on pittances. The doctors who save lives, then gladly accept whatever the patient can afford to pay them. The firemen who go into burning buildings to rescue pets for a child. People who willingly give up their lives to save the life of others."

"You know, you almost fit that last category. A little deeper and you could have bled to death. Say, do you feel like visitors?"

At the nodded assent, the nurse went to the door, and admitted Ms. Murphy, Terri, Charley, and Kim.

"We drew straws to see who was going first!" Mary said, "there’s about eight more awaiting their turn!"

"Ma’am, just how many know . . . know, well you know?" Michelle asked apprehensively.

"Ms. Thorncroft’s statement said a Jane Doe saved her life. You have a private room, with admission limited to certains doctors and nurses, and the hospital staff is sworn to secrecy -- heaven knows, I donate enough. The police and EMTs have no idea who you really are, and Alicia rode in to make sure they didn’t find out!"

"Ms. Thorncroft knew!" Michelle almost screamed. "God, she must hate me. A man dressed the way I was."

"Hey, relax! You could pull out a stitch. She’ll be in later to visit," Mary laughed.

"Hey, honey! It’s really so good to see you!" Terri practically screamed with joy as she pounced, showering affectionate hugs and kisses.

"I heard about the attack on the news, and I refused to believe you were hurt! The last three days have been hell on me," Kim reported.

"Three days? I’ve been out three days!"

"You were kept sedated while you were healing. The wound was more traumatic than threatening. You see, when you were attacked, the knife entered just above the left aureole at an oblique angle. Since you have a faux breast, the actual penetration of the weapon was rather shallow. I was told that the doctor doing the operation was surprised at how realistic the breasts were -- they kept the knife from doing any real harm," Angela reported, "When it’s time for you to leave here, we’ll have a new breastform on you!"

Charley was next. She leaned over the bed, gave Michelle a hug and a loving kiss. "Here, sweetie, this is for you!" she added, handing her a box.

Upon opening the box, Michelle was surprised with a pink lacey nightgown and a lovely matching bedjacket. "Oh, gee, you shouldn’t have. It’s beautiful!" she replied, tears streaming down her face at this loving gift.

Mary spoke up, "Hey, we should go -- you have a lot more visitors."

After hugs and kisses from each of the ladies as they left, a new group entered -- Chris, Nancy, Alicia, Bettie and Tina.

"Well, you sure picked a great way to get out of housework," Chris commented, a huge grin on her pretty face.

"I think you should know that the assailant was an escaped convict! Seems his girlfriend ran off with her girlfriend, taking a lot of money with them. He’s wanted in at least four states that they know of, so what they are trying to determine is who gets to try him first," Alicia reported, "There is a reward for his capture, which I will claim then send to you, if that’s acceptable."

Michelle didn’t know what to say to Ms. Thorncroft, then said, "Ms. Thorncroft, ma’am, I’m sorry for . . . "

"My dear! I’m the one who should apologize to you. I was informed of the fact that you were a male. When I first saw you, I just could not believe my eyes," Alicia said, then her eyes teared as she said, "I’m so, so sorry that you had to get hurt on my behalf. I feel responsible for all that’s happened to you."

"When you get out of here and have a chance, I’ll replace the clothes you lost -- at ten percent discount!" Nancy said.

"Oh, you’re all heart, Nan!" Michelle said, her smile indicating she really didn’t mean it.

"OK, fifteen percent then."

Over the next three hours, groups of visitors came, sat talking, and went, many bearing gifts of various kinds, including chocolates and flowers.

It was near dinnertime, as the flood of visitors slowed down, when Michelle got another surprise. The dinner was delivered from a nearby restaurant.

"How come this," she asked Nikki, her night nurse.

"You, my dear, are a celebrity. They offered dinners and delivery, free of charge."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later, Michelle relaxed, the nightgown felt real nice, and the bedjacket placed on a chair. The shoulder felt a little sore. Nikki, her night nurse, entered the room, carrying a thermometer and pressure gauge, another routine of the stay was about to begin.

The pretty nurse pulled down the sheet, asked Michelle to bare the shoulder. As the wound area came into view, the nurse took off the bandages. Two thin red lines showed against the skin, the fine stitches all but invisible.

"Dr. Clarkson does really nice work, Michelle. Once you get your new form, no one will ever know of the wound’s existence!" Nikki reported, as she took a pulse rate and temperature reading. Three pills of various colors, followed by a cup of water, were next.

When Nikki left the room, Michelle had a few moments to reflect on the events. What she did was almost a reflex. There was no thought of it being something heroic. So what did what she was wearing have to do with what she did. The idea that she would have done the same even if she was wearing heels and a garter belt occurred. The strange thing was her words: "That was a new blouse!"

"Maybe I got it all wrong," ‘Mike’ thought, "What you are has nothing to do with what you wear. Here I’m laying in bed, wearing a pretty nightgown, and my first thought was about a woman’s blouse, yet I took down a dangerous criminal. So who’s the strange ones -- me, because I’m starting to enjoy the feel of soft feminine clothes and I’m a male, or is it society, because they think that a real man shouldn’t like that stuff. It allows women to wear rough jeans and shirts, yet it gets upset when a man puts on soft panties and a skirt. Now if I wore a dress and held up a bank, I would be a criminal, and if I just wore the dress, in some states I would still be a criminal, even if I didn’t do anything else wrong. Why do I get the idea that the world makes no sense!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Michelle was released from the hospital three days later, there was a limousine parked at the curb, with a chauffeur waiting. It seemed like the entire staff of the hospital was there to wave good-bye to him as the car drove off. After a short drive, the limo stopped at a large building housing the city offices. The door was opened by a uniformed officer, who then escorted Michelle through a crowd of reporters to a hastily set-up podium bristling with microphones. Among the city officials present was Ms. Thorncroft, who was approaching with a large bouquet.

"Ms. Michelle Roberts, on behalf of a greatful city I wish to extend to you my thanks for saving my life, a check for $10,000.00 dollars in reward monies, and these flowers. Also, the city, in your name, will establish a one-year full scholarship fund for a needy student, to be awarded each year for as long as the city lasts."

A speechless Michelle stood there, accepted the check and flowers, with no way to express how she felt at this generosity. The only words that came out were, "I thank you very much for this honor I feel I do not deserve."

Alicia came over to her, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and a hug, whispering in her ear, "pretend to faint, and we’ll get you out of here!"

Well, orders were orders! She fainted into Ms. Thorncroft’s arms, and heard her say, "Sorry, I guess she’s still too weak from the wounds she received -- no questions please." Seeing two officers standing nearby, Alicia asked, "Would you please assist Ms. Roberts back to her car so she can get home for some rest?"

The officers practically tripped over each other to help such a pretty lady. A simple smile from Michelle was all the thanks they needed.

As her car pulled away, one of the officers remarked to the other, "Is she the one who took down Sam Davies? She seems too nice."

The second officer smiled, replied, "Just don’t make her mad! Mr. Sam Davies is in the prison hospital with two broken ribs, a black eye, and a fractured jaw."

The ride in the limo was brief. There was a stop at the house where she was staying to pick up her luggage and a passenger, Kim. Then Ms. Murphy came out and entered the other side, saying, "Kim is moving in with us. She will be going to work for Susan."

"How are you feeling? Did you get a new breastform?" Kim asked as the limo turned onto the road home. (Michelle now accepted Mary’s place as her home.)

"I feel fine, just a little pain in the shoulder when I stretch my arm. They, my nurses, put a new ’form on me last night. Since I’ll need some bandage changes, it’s attached with a light adhesive and it matches my skin tone perfectly, but it won’t tan."

"OK. I’ll make a reminder: no trips to the beach! How’s that," Kim quipped.

Mary had a question that she did not relish asking. She did not want to lose someone she had grown to love as a daughter. The more she thought about the answer he might give, his rejection of her for what she did, and the possibility of the loss, the less she wanted to speak, but it had to be done. She did not want to feel, in her heart, that he was a prisoner of hers.

‘Mike’ sat back in the car, enjoying the company, the ride and the music from the car’s radio. Now really was it so bad being around nice, pretty girls. Helping them dress, look nice for dates -- dates he wouldn’t have with them. That was a missing piece of the whole puzzle! He would never have a date with any of them, dressed as he was. The sadness returned, and tears started!

"Michelle," Mary asked, concern showing in her voice, "Michelle, dear, what’s wrong? Are you in pain? Do you want us to stop?"

"No," she stated, teary-eyed, "I was just thinking about helping the girls get ready for dates I’ll never have. Going out for a dinner and movie, that sort of thing. I’m not interested in boys, even if I am dressed in pretty things!"

"I never wanted you to be interested in boys, Michelle. Have you ever thought of asking any of the girls to go out for dinner and a movie, go shopping, or just sit and watch TV with you?"

"Hey, I’ll go out with you anytime, kid!" Kim replied, "Didn’t we have fun in bed that night -- so tell me, why waste time with all those preliminaries, huh!"

The word "preliminary" had a strange effect on Michelle. She shuddered, turned away to cry even harder.

"What did I do!" asked a mystified Kim.

" ‘Mike,’ " Mary asked, offering a tissue, also puzzled by this strange effect, "please tell us what’s wrong."

‘Mike’ breathed a long sigh, knowing it had to come out sooner or later. "When I was in school, my father wanted me to be a man and stand up to school bullies, so he taught me to box. I was quite good, a natural you might say, and I had a few amateur fights. I won most of them on points. One fight, a preliminary -- you know, the one just before a main or title fight, I came up against a bigger kid. He would grab me and hold on, whispering in my ear, ‘you’re nothing but a faggot,’ ‘I’ll knock your queer teeth down your throat,’ and ‘your mama is a whore, and your papa is a faggot like you!’ I got so mad, I just opened up on him. I’ll never forget him laying on the canvas, unconscious, bleeding from his nose. I thought he was dead, he was lying so still.

"Going back to the dressing room, I watched as they carried him out of the ring. I started crying, I was just so sick at what I had done to someone else. I told my father that I did not want to fight again. He told me I already signed for two more fights, both of which I lost, and I was going to fight a lot more! From then on, he would try to get me to fight. He punished me, goaded me, he even called me names, but I would not fight. Of course, in school, word got around that I knocked a kid out, so all the macho punks tried me, and I refused to fight. I just couldn’t stand the thought of hurting someone else. Girls thought I was weak, a submissive coward, so they didn’t want to associate with me, and the boys, well they called me a sissy, and also stayed away. At least Paul stood by me through school! With almost no friends, I studied a lot, got good grades and wound up in college."

"So why did you risk your life to help Ms. Thorncroft?" inquired Kim.

"She was in trouble, is the only explanation I can give."

"Ah, Michelle! You are gentle, loving, motherly, compassionate. You saw that boy hurt, and you felt so bad for what you did. You are strong, caring, and assertive. You refused to give in to your father. Now tell me something: don’t these attributes sound like a combination of the best of the female and male?"

"As you put them, I would say so."

Mary reached down, taking Michelle hand in hers, and a second or two later, Kim did the same. The three sat, holding hands, all the way to the estate.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over a period of time, Michelle’s wounds healed. The breastform, held on by spirit gum, was taken off, then a bandage removal, wound cleaning, and a new dressing applied by whoever was available. First Chris, then Mary, Terri getting in a chance. Life was getting a lot less complicated. ‘Mike’ was still there, along with Michelle. In time, it was back to her maid’s duties along with her sister maids.

It was a nice weekend, so Michelle asked Mary if she could have a day off along with Terri.

"Tell you what! Let’s get everybody together and I’ll take the van to ‘Mindy Lou’s’ and do some shopping," Mary replied happily.

"Wonderful!" commented a strangely contented Michelle.

At the store, Nancy greeted Michelle with a hug and a kiss. Instead of hanging on for dear life, Michelle returned with a hug and kiss of her own. She enthusiastically tried on dozens of feminine garments, modeling them for Chris, Bettie, Mary and Terri. Finally, after spending hours of fun-filled shopping, it was time to eat.

At a nearby restaurant, in a large booth (this group needed one), Michelle blurted out, "I never realized shopping could be so much fun!"

"You made it fun for us, Michelle," Gloria replied, "When I heard about that attack, I thought we had lost you!"

"Yeah, honey, you gave us a really big scare! Don’t do that ever again," commented Bettie.

"I really am sorry about that! The hospital stay gave me a chance to think, though. Up to now, I was worried about what I was becoming. I kept thinking in male and female terms, not as a human. Society seems to me to impose these separate terms, you know the ‘she can’t do that because she’s a girl’ kind of thing. There are ‘male’ and ‘female’ jobs, not human jobs. There I was in what might be called a female mode of dress, and I took down a wanted felon, without regard for my own life. And the first thing I thought of was my ripped blouse, which was strange."

"Well, Michelle, we do raise our children to be male or female, not humans. It’s ‘Don’t play with those dolls, they’re your sisters’ or ‘Girls can’t do that!’ Maybe once we realize that we are humans first, individuals with individual tastes, abilities and needs, then we can rid ourselves of a lot of problems," Mary said.

Kim added her feelings. "As a human, if you wanted to wear a dress, you could and nobody would give a damn. Now, as a male, if you wore a dress, its ‘oh my god, you’re a sissy,’ or ‘what the hell is wrong, you faggot,’ as almost everyone would think there is something seriously the matter with you, a man, when the only thing is you like nice things. You get labeled."

"You’re right! We label each sex so we can handle it. If you do something that doesn’t fit, neatly, into the labelled package, there has to be something wrong with YOU! If the ‘Mike’ wore panties and nylons, he doesn’t fit the ‘male sex’ label. Just imagine a boy given a girl’s name at birth, he can’t fit in with boys or girls."

The waiter arrived with the order, so the conversation stopped. Actually it made sense. What happened to him was he locked-in on trying to be a male, with male values, when for the most part he had human values, which included a male-female dichotomy.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mike’s next surprise came a week later, on a chilly Saturday. He was relaxing, wearing a peach blouse, sea-green jumper, black seamed stockings and high heels (he wore them to get use to walking wearing heels), when Ms. Murphy entered the room, spied him. She smiled at him, sitting there, reading Good Housekeeping like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Get a warm coat, Michelle, sweetie. I want to take you someplace."

"OK, where are we going?"

"Oh, you’ll see," said an enigmatic Mary.

In ten minutes, Mary had her in the car, as Terri took the driver’s seat.

"Michelle, I want to blindfold you. Is it OK?" Mary asked.

"Sure!" Mike now trusted her completely. The Mike/Michelle formed a bond with both Terri and Mary.

A soft cloth was placed over his eyes and secured in the back of his head, and a bag placed loosely over his head.

"Can you see anything, Mike?"

"No," was his honest answer.

The drive wound around many turns, up one highway and down someplace else. Mike had no idea where he was. There were bumps as they crossed railroad tracks, sounds of a strange machine running, and the odor of fresh tar. There was a pause, then a short drive, then the car parked. Mike was led out, down a path and over something that felt like a bridge. The trio halted for some reason, then continued down a gravel path. Wearing heels, Mike was greatful for the arms assisting him along the way.

"Slow, Mike. Three steps ahead."

Mike slowed down, felt the steps, and managed to get up them, then heard, "straight ahead, about five steps, is a door." That trip accomplished, a second hand took his and led him through the door. The sound of several other people were quite apparent.

After a short distance down a corridor, Mike was turned and told to back up. He did so, and found a chair behind him. "Sit down and relax for awhile," he was instructed.

Although he was curious to see where he was, he sat with the blindfold and bag on his head, feeling somewhat ridiculous. The wait seemed to stretch out for hours, ’til finally he felt hands take his with a "please, get up and come with us."

He was led by two people into a place, over what felt like carpet. "Kneel," was the next command. He knelt, on a cushion, and waited. The bag was suddenly removed, and he heard Mary’s voice next.

"Inner Circle of Guardians of Circe, Sisters in Circe! I bring to you a new member, tried and true to our aims! She is as close to me as a daughter. I propose that she be given full membership, without a trial period."

A second voice spoke up, "I agree. I know of her and stand with her. Sisters, she has risked her life, and I will place my name on the line for her!"

A new voice was next: "Enough has been heard, the sisters will have their say. The candidate who kneels before you is Mike Green. He was taken some time ago because of his questions. Now, he is known as Michelle Roberts, a maid in Ms. Mary Murphy’s household. He does his work without protest, and bore the punishments meted out to him with little complaint. When he was allowed to go back to his masculine ways, he refused. As a Guardian, I request that he become a full member without delay."

Now Mary spoke: "I see no need to delay this meeting with any discussion concerning ‘his’ merits. The usual voting method will prevail."

Mike stayed there, in a kneeling position, as a flurry of activity swirled around him. He had no idea what was happening.

Ten minutes passed, then ten more.

"The bags please. As there are ten Guardians and thirty members present, a vote of twenty-five will allow for a probationary admission, and thirty, membership."

Mike waited as he heard somethings metallic clinking. Then, Ms. Murphy spoke.

"Well, I’m surprised, happy, and feeling very good. Michelle, the vote has been counted. Thirty-five voted for, one against and four abstained -- three because of closeness."

Two hands reached down and helped her to a standing position, and then removed the blindfold. She was in a large candle-light room, and before her stood Mary, and to her right, Alicia Thorncroft. Seated along the sides of the room were females of various shapes and sizes, each holding a lit candle.

Mary spoke: "Repeat after me. I, Michelle Roberts, do swear on my personal honor that I will never reveal the names of any person I personally know, to anyone outside of this group. That I will, to the best of my ability, protect any female in any way necessary. And I will assist any sister in any way I can, as long as no permanent damage is inflicted on anyone!"

Michelle replied, repeating her oath in a loud and strong voice so that all in attendance could hear, intending to follow it as best she could.

Alicia stepped forward, then walked over to where Michelle was standing. "I have been given the honor of welcoming you to our group," she said, then she kissed her on each cheek, hugged her, and continued, "I love, honor and accept you as my sister in Circe, Michelle!"

Mike felt genuinely honored as each of the members, all forty of them, repeated the greeting, kissed and hugged him. He was, strangely, crying of happiness -- imagine a man crying because he was happy.

Mary was the last to kiss him. After the hug, she said, "To show you belong, wear our pendant as a symbol to others." She placed a necklace, consisting of a gold chain with a gold circle and an intersecting horizontal red bar which extended a little on each side, around his neck.

Michelle was led by Mary and Alicia onto the small stage to show him to the group. "All ye who are present today, I present to you our newest member, Sister Michelle Roberts. My dear, if you would like, you may say a few words."

Mike looked out on the group. He spotted Nancy, Chris, Bettie, Alicia and others he knew. What could this man/woman say? How could he communicate how much of an honor this was to him, a male?

"I don’t know what I can say, except that I feel I don’t deserve this! I feel like I was asleep for the early part of my life and I’m just waking up. Waking up to what life could be like. Oh, I am a maid, that I agree with, but I get three meals a day, a warm place to live, good companions, and love from many different sources. Those are the most important things in life -- I realize that now. When I tried to find out who was doing things to the males on campus, I wanted the culprits to stop. Now, after hearing how many of you have been mistreated, I realize they had it coming to them! Again, I . . . I thank you for this honor."

As she came off to stage, Mary offered her a handkerchief. "Blow your nose, dear!"

After the obligatory "thnnff, Michelle took out her lipstick and repaired the damage. "Mary, thank you so nuch," she said as she threw her arms around Mary and gave her a big hug.

After the initiation, there was a party where Michelle met all the members, the High Council (of which Mary, Alicia and Nancy were members) and two other initiates, both freshmen at the school. Some music was started, so she danced with members, remembering a story -- Ginger Rodgers did it backwards and in high heels -- as she was now in the same position. Except for one or two stumbles, he did OK.

A buffet dinner was set out, and Michelle filled a paper plate for herself and one for Mary, then went to find her. As she offered the plate to her, Mary replied, "Why, thank you, Michelle, dear, that was very thoughtful of you! Please sit, I have something to say to you."

As she sat beside Mary, they exchanged ideas on the future. "I can’t help but think about Paul," Michelle stated.

Mary laughed, then said, "Are you in love, dear?"

"Mary! Bite your tongue! Don’t even think of such a thing," she replied with a grin, "he was my best friend for a long time. Sometimes, he was my only friend. He really deserves to know I’m safe. And very happy," Michelle added.

"We’ll work something out, sweetheart," Mary honestly replied.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following days, Michelle, along with Terri, went to the stores for groceries, ran errands for Mary and Gloria, filled-in as a maid for Susan, and generally made herself useful. She shopped at "Mindy Lou’s" so much, she got to know all the clerks and was entitled to a fifteen percent discount whenever she came in. Mary always praised her breakfasts, even when she messed up, like the time she burned the toast setting off smoke alarms!

Mary grew to love Michelle, always trying to please. Without her help, in the home, Terri would have quit! The most amazing thing, to her at least, was how pleasant and accepting she was.

As far as Michelle was concerned, this was now home. She often left the grounds to shop, eat out, occasionally taking her best friend, Terri, along. In the stores, she browsed in that "forbidden to male zone -- lingerie" as easily as if she had been born female. When she was on campus, for some reason or another, she proudly displayed her pendant.

It was on campus, one Friday night in March, that she proved her mettle for a second time. While going to her car, after a lecture at the museum, she saw a man following a woman. Curious, she cautiously followed. On an empty street, the man started to move faster, trying to catch the woman. Being as quiet as possible, Michelle also moved a little faster.

Before long, the attacker got behind the woman and made a grab for her, apparently intending to drag her down a nearby alley. As he did, Michelle made her move, and the woman turned -- a glint at her throat quickly indicated this guy’s in big trouble!

Turning to get away, he run right into Michelle’s knee, and a quick punch. The woman was on him in seconds, and this possible rapist was down for the count.

The woman looked at Michelle, smiled when she saw the mark of Circe, said "My name’s Diana. Sister, if you wish to go, I can get the police."

After a rummage through her bag, a cell phone was produced with, "Be my guest!"

A quick 911 call had the city police on their way, as Michelle took this opportunity to introduce herself.

"Oh, I was supposed to attend your initiation, but I had some classes to attend. My name is Diana Kingston. I transferred in about two months ago to take some advanced courses. After we get this punk in jail, how about a coffee?"

"Sounds great!"

For some strange reason, the police took only a few minutes responding. After a few questions, the officers hauled the perp away. One said to Diana, "I think he’s wanted for an assault on a police officer. If that’s the case, we’ll take it from here and file a complaint. I’ll need your name and address, if we need to contact you."

After each woman gave their name and address, the officer looked at them, saw Michelle’s name, smiled and commented, "I’ve heard of you! You took down that creep in Harperton, didn’t you?"

"I’m afraid that was me," Michelle replied with a wan smile. "Really, it wasn’t something I would brag about."

"Well, you took out a dangerous felon! Even a police officer, like myself, would be proud to brag about what you done!"

Soon the officers departed, the area went back to being quiet, and Diana said to Michelle, "Now how about that coffee?"

"Sounds good! Dirty Dick’s?"

"My apartment is just a block from here, and I can supply a piece of chocolate cake, too."

"OK, I’ll have to call in to my employer to let her know where I’m going to be."

When Michelle reached Mary, she told about the encounter, meeting Diana and the coffee date. Mary replied, "OK, dear. If you stay overnight, use ‘MICHE’ as your re-entry code at the gate." After a good night from Mary, Michelle said her good night and hung up.

 

End of Part Six.

Annie O

 

 

*********************************************
© 2001 by Ann O'Nonymous. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.